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Examples:
Note: The word thing includes (i) all objects that we can see, hear, taste, touch
or smell; and (ii) something that we can think of, but cannot perceive by the
senses.
• [Resource: NEW EDITION HIGH SCHOOL/English Grammar & Composition/BY WREN & MARTIN/Page No-05]
Types of Nouns
[Proper means one’s own. Hence a proper Name is a person’s own name.]
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Note-1: Proper nouns are always written with a capital letter at the
beginning.
Example: -
[Resource: NEW EDITION HIGH SCHOOL/English Grammar & Composition/BY WREN & MARTIN/Page No-05]
Example:
Crowd, mob, team, flock, herd, army, fleet, jury, family, nation,
parliament, committee.
[Resource: NEW EDITION HIGH SCHOOL/English Grammar & Composition/BY WREN & MARTIN/Page No-06]
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Abstract Nouns:
An abstract noun is usually the name of quality, action, or state
considered apart from the object to which it belongs to; as
Example:
The names of the Arts and Sciences (e.g. grammar, music, chemistry, etc.)
are also abstract nouns.
a. From adjectives: as
b. From verbs; as
Obedience from obey, growth from grow
(1) From common nouns; as
[Resource: NEW EDITION HIGH SCHOOL/English Grammar & Composition/BY WREN & MARTIN/Page No-05]
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(5) Countable Nouns:
Countable nouns (or countable) are the names of objects, people,
etc, that we can count.
Example:
book, pen, apple, boy, sister, doctor, horse.
(6) Uncountable Nouns:
Uncountable nouns (or uncountable) are the names of things which
we cannot count.
Example:
Milk, oil, sugar, gold, honesty.
The mainly denote substances and abstract things.
Countable nouns have plural forms while uncountable nouns do
not.
Example:
We say “books”, but we can’t say “milks”.
[Resource: NEW EDITION HIGH SCHOOL/English Grammar & Composition/BY WREN & MARTIN/Page No-06]
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Common Gender:
A noun that denotes either a male or a female is said to be of the common
gender.
Example:
Neutral Gender:
A noun that denotes a thing that is neither male or female (i.e. thing
without life) is said to be of the neutral gender.
Example:
Book, pen, room, tree.
[Resource: NEW EDITION HIGH SCHOOL/English Grammar & Composition/BY WREN & MARTIN/Page No-08]
Masculine Feminine
Bachelor Maid (old use)
Boy Girl
Brother Sister
Buck Doe
Hart Roe
Horse Mare
Cock Hen
Nephew Niece
Ram Ewe
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(2) By adding a syllabus (-ess, -ine, -trix, -a, -etc) as
Masculine Feminine
Author Authoress
Baron Baroness
Mayor Mayoress
Patron Patroness
Peer Peeress
Viscount Viscount
[Note that in the following -ess is added after dropping the vowel of the
masculine ending]
Masculine Feminine
Actor Actress
Negro Negress
Abbot Abbess
Duke Duchess
Emperor Empress
Tiger Tigers
Traitor Traitress
Sorcerer Sorceress
Note:
The suffix -ess is the commonest suffix used to form feminine nouns, from the
masculine, and is the only one which we now use in forming a new feminine
noun.
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Masculine Feminine
Hero Heroine
Testator Testatrix
Sultan Sultana
Fox Foxen
Masculine Feminine
Landlord Landlady
Grandfather Grandmother
Milkman Milkwoman
Peacock Peahen
[Resource: NEW EDITION HIGH SCHOOL/English Grammar & Composition/BY WREN & MARTIN/Page No-09]
Singular Number: -
Example:
Plural Number: -
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Example:
• A few nouns form their plural by changing the inside vowel of the singular;
as,
• There are a few nouns that form their plural by adding -en to the singular; as,
Ox, oxen child, children
• Some nouns have the singular and the plural alike; as,
Swine, sheep, dear, cod, trout, salmon; aircraft, spacecraft, series,
species, pair, dozen, score, gross, hundred, thousand
(when used after numerals)
1) I bought three dozen oranges.
2) Some people reach the age of three score and ten.
3) The sari cost me five thousand rupees.
▪ Stone, hundred weights
4) He weights above nine stone.
• Some nouns are used only in the plural.
1) Names of instruments which have two parts forming a kind of pair; as,
▪ Bellows, scissors, tongs, pincers, spectacles.
2) Names of certain articles of dress; as,
▪ Trousers, drawers, breeches, jeans, tights, shorts, pyjamas.
3) Certain other nouns; as,
▪ Anna’s, thanks, proceeds (of a sale), tidings, environs, nupitals,
obsequies, assets.
4) Some nouns originally singular are now generally used in the plural; as,
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▪ Alms, riches, eaves
• Riches do many things.
• The following nouns look plural but are in fact singular:
1) Nouns of subjects
▪ Mathematics, physics, electronics, etc.
2) The word news
3) Names of some common diseases, measles, mumps, rickets.
4) Names of some games
▪ Billiards, draughts
Singular Plural
Commander-in-chief Commanders-in-chief
Coat-of-mail Coats-of-mail
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Son-in-law Sons-in-law
Stepson Stepsons
Passer-by Passers-by
• Some nouns have two forms for the plural each with a somewhat different
meaning.
Singular Plural
Brothers, sons of the same parent,
Brother Brethren, members of a society or
a community.
Clothes, kinds or pieces of cloth
Cloth
Clothes, garments
Dies, stamps for coining
Die
Dice, small cubes used in games.
[Resource: NEW EDITION HIGH SCHOOL/English Grammar & Composition/BY WREN & MARTIN/Page No-10]
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Work Cited:
• NEW EDITION HIGH SCHOOL/English Grammar & Composition/BY WREN &
MARTIN (With New Appendices)/REVISED BY N.D.V. PRASADA RAO and S.
CHAND/Page no-05 to 10
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